Educational marble game

Abstract

An educational marble game in which players project spherical playing pieces--marbles--on a textured game board carpet on which indicia are presented having unnamed geographical significance, such as a map of the United States, subdivided into the various subdivisions, such as states. By playing the game, the players enjoy the challenge of the manual dexterity of projecting the marbles along with the benefit of naming and learning geographical facts simultaneously and in combination.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A game apparatus for teaching and learning geography, comprising: a. a plurality of spherical playing pieces; and   b. a game board playing surface, composed of a portable sheet of carpet material sufficiently hard and textured that the playing pieces will readily roll and stop thereon, the game board having indicia on the surface thereof, including a combination of assorted straight and curved lines joined together to form contours representing, defining, and depicting the shaped borders of enclosed areas of different contours of unnamed divisions or unnamed subdivisions of geographical significance, the spherical playing pieces being constructed to roll upon the playing surface of the game board by the projection of game players and to come to rest upon the surface of the game board within the shaped borders of the enclosed areas of the unnamed divisions or unnamed subdivisions and to strike other spherical playing pieces, and to propel them across the playing surface causing them to come to rest within or without the shaped borders of the enclosed areas of the unnamed divisions or unnamed subdivisions, and the game board being devoid of recesses capable of capturing the spherical playing pieces; according to the rules and procedures of the game played upon the surface with the spherical playing pieces which allows the players to capture the spherical playing pieces according to skill in detecting the shape and naming the divisions or subdivisions in addition to skill in projecting the spherical playing pieces.     
     
     
       2. A game apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the spherical playing pieces comprise glass, plastic, or steel marbles. 
     
     
       3. A game apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the game board material is textured carpet. 
     
     
       4. A game apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the indicia represent geographical configurations of the contour of the United States of America and the confines of the states thereof. 
     
     
       5. A game apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the indicia also represent important rivers or lakes which are located within the geographical confines of the United States of America. 
     
     
       6. A game apparatus according to claim 5 wherein indicia also represent state capitals and important cities within the geographical confines of the United States of America.